Several types of device exist for closing tubes that are designed to be squeezed and enabling the contents thereof to be expelled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,081 or FR-A-2 591 571 relate to receptacle shutters including a cap constituted by a side wall and by a top wall, which cap is fixed to an outlet piece by means of a hinge joint. Locking is provided by releasable snap engagement of the cap on the outlet piece. The outlet piece comprises a transverse top wall that includes a dispensing orifice which co-operates with a spur formed on the inside face of the top wall of the cap.
FR-A-2 293 372 relates to a closure having a pivoting spout including a plug fixed on the receptacle and a spout mounted to rotate on the plug between a closed position in which the spout closes an orifice in the plug and an open position in which the spout extends the orifice in the plug. The axis of rotation is perpendicular to the general axis of the plug.
EP-A-0 336 188 also relates to a closure having a pivoting spout, the difference compared with the closure described in FR-A-2 253 372 being that the axis of rotation is parallel to the general axis of the plug.
EP-A-0 296 103 relates to a dispensing capsule comprising a base suitable for mounting on the neck of a receptacle and including a pouring opening, and connected thereto a spout that is closed at its top end and that serves as a sealing peg. The capsule further includes a covering hood connected in rotary manner to the base and including a central opening into which, when the capsule is in the closed position, the closed top end penetrates so as to achieve sealing. The covering hood is mounted to rotate axially by means of an outside thread on the top end engaging in an inside thread formed in the covering hood. Such a device suffers from the drawback of the need to provide a top end of axial length that is sufficient to enable an outside thread to be formed thereon. That causes the capsule to have considerable axial extent, particularly relative to the tube on which it is mounted. One of the major consequences of this drawback is that the consumer can be mislead as to how much substance a tube that has just been acquired genuinely contains.
FR-A-2 560 158 relates to a dispensing capsule having a safety key and comprising a capsule body with a bottom skirt including a rod for engaging the receptacle, a central notch having an angled end, and a top opening for dispensing the contents of the receptacle. The capsule body is provided on the inside with a shaft on which a spring blade is mounted that forms a panel for closing the top opening and the angled notch. The end of the spring blade constitutes a drive lever inside the notch. The capsule of that document, which is considered as being the state of the art closest to the present invention, suffers from several drawbacks. Firstly, said capsule is dedicated to a particular type of receptacle that must initially be prepared to receive the drive lever, so the capsule is therefore non-standard and cannot be mounted on receptacles that have not been so prepared. Secondly, the tolerances that the spring blade can accept are very small since it serves to close two orifices simultaneously, one of which is not dedicated to expelling the contents of the receptacle.